Zlatan Ibrahimović is one of the world's most brazenly outspoken footballers, and as a result of that he's also one of the most widely publicized. However, the 41-year-old maintains a largely anonymous private life, spending much of his offseason time in Malmö with longtime partner Helena Seger and their two sons Maximilian (age 16) and Vincent (age 14).
Fulham continue to impress in their return to the Premier League after defeating Nottingham Forest 2-0 on Saturday for the team’s tenth EPL win this season. When the Cottagers were relegated in the 2020-21 season, they only recorded five league victories.
Saturday’s win saw another great shift from American defenders Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson. The American duo have become a wall on Fulham’s left side and kept the seventh clean sheet on the season.
MANCHESTER, England - The title hopes of Manchester United and Arsenal suffered setbacks when they were held to scoreless draws in the Women's Super League on Sunday, allowing Chelsea to replace United at the top of the table after a superb 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester United drew 0-0 with Everton in Sunday's early game and Arsenal were shut out by West Ham United in the late match, while in between Chelsea beat Spurs to move to the top of the standings.
The jokes about Gareth Bale playing more golf than soccer during his time at Real Madrid are no laughing matter anymore. Bale retired from professional ball after the World Cup and is now looking to dominate the golf course.
On Thursday Bale was competing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California where he hit an incredible trick shot to get on the green.
Multi-sport athlete ⚽️
BRIGHTON, England - Holders Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup after losing 2-1 at Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round on Sunday as Kaoru Mitoma struck the winning goal in stoppage time.
Harvey Elliott put Liverpool ahead, Lewis Dunk equalized before halftime and the score stayed at 1-1 until Mitoma found the net in the 92nd minute with a fine finish.
RIYADH - Anderson Talisca earned Al Nassr a 1-0 home win over Al Ettifaq on Sunday, but the fans that turned up to Mrsool Park in droves to see Cristiano Ronaldo in action were left disappointed after he was unable to mark his Saudi Pro league debut with a goal.
Ronaldo signed a 2-1/2 year deal with Al Nassr last month, reported to be worth over $216.28 million, but has had to wait to play because of a two-match ban by England's FA for knocking a phone out of a fan's hand in April.
Paris Saint-Germain and the Riyadh All-Stars put on a magnificent show on Thursday as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos and Kylian Mbappé all found the back of the net in PSG's 5-4 victory. The stars showed out and one Ronaldo nutmeg vs PSG received enormous applause from the fans inside King Fahad International Stadium.
The lasting feeling from Thursday's 5-4 friendly between PSG and a Riyadh All-Star XI in Saudi Arabia is that Cristiano Ronaldo, on the verge of his 38th birthday, and Lionel Messi, 35, could play forever. Neymar, 30, looks like he's got a year or two left in him.
It was Ronaldo who scored Riyadh's first two goals while Messi opened the scoring for PSG in the third-minute. Both provided moments of dazzling skill, much to the delight of the businessman who paid $2.66 million for a single ticket.
Messi opens the scoring off Neymar's pass
We have discovered the next Alisson Becker — it's 18-year-old Braga prospect João Carvalho, who makes Alisson look about as talented as Loris Karius in comparison.
On Tuesday, in Portugal's Liga Revelação U-23 division, Carvalho took possession in the 89th minute with his Braga side holding a slender 2-1 advantage over Rio Ave. In this situation you're supposed to "GET RID!" by smashing the ball 30 yards out of play, but Carvalho is built different.
I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast, but if you've been following The18 for the past year then you've already seen all 11 FIFA Puskas Award nominees. We have exquisite taste like that.
But in case you can't remember the strikes — arriving as early as Apr. 2 and as late as Kylian Mbappé's side-volley against Argentina in the World Cup final on Dec. 18 — here's a trip down memory lane with videos that you can watch right here, right now. I've also included a link to what The18 said at the time.